A retired footballer, the first £1 million teenager in British football, hopes Christian events he is holding will help keep youngsters out of trouble.

Ex-Sheffield United, Watford and Barnsley striker Bruce Dyer is seeing up to 500 teenagers attend rollerblading events in Sheffield.

As born-again Christians, Bruce and wife Janine, believe their organisation Love Life, which was established in 2008, can help young people realise their future doesn’t have to lie with drugs and alcohol.

Bruce, 36, said: “I went skating with my brother about 18 months ago and really enjoyed it, but I hated the music, and thought that we need something like this that promotes Christianity.

“I spoke to my wife and we realised that in Sheffield there isn’t much going on for young people. There are lots of bad things going on today, with the knife and gun problems, and we want to show a generation that they don’t need to live like this.”

The couple have invited gospel DJs and musicians to perform at the events, and Bruce admits he has been shocked with the response.

He added: “We’ve had people travel from the North, South, East and West. It’s been incredible to be honest. I know God is able but it has blown us away how fast this has grown.”

Bruce, a one-time clubber before his conversion to Christianity, said his love for Jesus has even overtaken his passion for football, which saw him play in the top two flights of English football for the majority of his career.

Raised in a Pentecostal family, Bruce never took God seriously, and when he left home at 16, began a life of women, drink and wild partying.

In August 1998, he realised money and fame hadn’t brought him happiness, and soon turned to God.

He recalls: “I’d dreamed about a lot of things and had achieved them but just wasn’t happy. I had a house, car and money in the bank and thought that would make me happy. I spoke to my brother who had become a born again Christian in prison. When he came out the transformation in his life was unbelievable. I was talking to my brother and saw that Jesus was real.

“I wasn’t in a church or anything, but I just sat in my bed and repented of my sin and said sorry to the Lord. I asked him to help me to live the right way.

“It was weird and strange. I supernaturally changed. I tried to battle issues with women and partying for years but could never overcome them in my own strength. As soon as I asked the Lord Jesus Christ into my life everything changed.

“The Bible says anyone who is in Christ, he’s a new creation. I remember going into the changing room at Crystal Palace and saying to the lads that I’d become a born again Christian. They looked at me like I’d gone crazy.”